Editorial

Citation

Fong, P.K.W. (2019), "Editorial", Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 87-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/PAP-12-2019-024

Introduction – What happened in Hong Kong in 2019?

Hong Kong experienced a very serious social and political unrest in 2019. The introduction of the amendment of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (FOO) by the HKSAR Government triggered off widespread public protests in June 2019. The bill tried to deal with the case of a Hong Kong resident, Chan Tong-kai, who murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan and escaped back to Hong Kong and to plug the existing loopholes due to the absence of legislation in coping with mainland and Taiwan criminal suspects. The Chief Executive Carrie Lam formally withdrew it on 4 September 2019. Hong Kong faced the most severe social turbulence, severe rift between the pro-establishment and pro-democracy political camps, economic slowdown, high level of street violence, lawlessness, destruction of public and private properties and unprecedented governance crisis in 60 years.

Usually, after many peaceful demonstrations, a small group of radical protesters who were well funded and equipped with professional gears such as expensive knee pads, helmets, goggles, gloves and gas masks resorted to use violent means to create disorders in the scene. They hurled petrol bombs and bricks at police stations and government buildings; occupied the airport terminal, humiliating and beating up some passengers and a mainland Chinese reporter; damaged many public facilities and Mass Transit Railway stations; blocked traffics in roads, tunnels and bridges; forced the shutdown of many business shops and restaurants; committed arson and damaged public facilities; forced into the Legislative Council (parliament) building, ransacked everything inside, including the HKSAR and national flags and emblems. They used all kinds of weapons such as iron sticks and umbrella with knife heads to attack and caused injuries to police officers and ordinary citizens. During the first 100 days of the social unrest from 6 June to 16 September 2019, the police arrested 1,453 protesters (including 400 students) and prosecuted over 200 protesters for various crimes including riots, assaulting police, illegal possession of firearms and arson, etc. (SCMP, 2019). More than 250 police officers were injured in carrying out their duties during the protests. Fortunately, there was no death during the first 100 days of the demonstrations as the Hong Kong police restrained from using more damaging firearms.

According to some academics (Lee, 2019; Cheung, 2019) and media analysts, there are many causes leading to the unrest. They include the growing gap between the rich and poor. The Gini coefficient for Hong Kong is over 0.5, one of the most unequal societies in the developed world. By comparison, according to the OECD, the Gini coefficient for the USA is 0.39 (Lee, 2019). The skyrocketing housing prices and rents are unaffordable for many young professionals as the income for university graduates remained stagnant over the past 20 years. The younger generations are very dissatisfied with their chance of upward mobility in the society. The civic, national and cultural education in secondary schools were not successful as a large number of students lack patriotism, civic responsibilities and respect for law and order. They damaged public and community facilities, social order and seek independence from China. They blame the mainlanders for taking the resources from local low-income groups and pushing up the housing prices and rents, as well as replacing neighbourhood stores with luxury brand shops. The relationships between the local people and mainlanders are very poor. The lack of political leadership in the HKSAR Government also contributes to the problem. When Carrie Lam took up her Chief Executive post, she abolished the Central Policy Unit and vacated the Information Coordinator post which are very important in public policy making and publicity. As a result, Lam did not have sufficient good advice on the amendment bill’s political risks and the consequences of pushing the bill through without adequate public engagements and supports.

Some of the analysts further pointed out that the protesters who are well funded and equipped with abundant supplies of protest gears such as anti-tear gas masks, knife headed umbrellas and fire bombs probably received support from organisations outside Hong Kong. There are countries such as the USA and some other western countries may not be happy to face the rise of China and want to slowdown the Chinese progress by destabilising Hong Kong and detaching it from China. When will the current political and social unrest in Hong Kong finally end? Can “One Country, Two Systems” continue? The Hong Kong people and the HKSAR and the Central governments will have to find some acceptable solutions to these questions.

This journal plans to publish some special issues next year. A special issue on Corruption Scandals in Asian Countries has been scheduled for publishing in early 2020.

We wish to thank all the paper contributors in this issue and the reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions in helping authors to improve their papers. Finally, I thank our editorial team and international advisors for their efforts in making the journal publication possible.

Summary of articles

This issue starts with two viewpoints on the recent social and political unrest in Hong Kong. It is followed by six research papers on various topics. The following are brief highlights of all the articles:

1. The first article is What has gone wrong in Hong Kong? by Anthony B.L. Cheung. This article identifies the underlying problems of the recent unrest caused by the introduction of the amendments of Extradition Law in Hong Kong. The perspectives of politics and governance are used to analyse the situation. As a result, three underlying problems are identified, including the existential crisis under “One Country, Two Systems”, the politics of “fear of losing”, and the institutional weakness to reform and change under the current system of “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong”. In conclusion, the author suggests that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government should take initiatives to address the above problems.

2. The second article is Sober minds are needed to understand what is going on in Hong Kong by Yok-sing Tsang. This article explores some sober minds of better reordering of the relationships among the Central People’s Government of China (CPG), Hong Kong SAR Government (HKSARG) and the people of Hong Kong. It attempts to analyse and explain the varying challenges faced by all stakeholders in the recent social and political unrest in Hong Kong. As a result of HKSARG’s failure to amend the FOO, the feelings of resentment at both social inequality and political stagnation in Hong Kong turn into hostility towards the HKSARG, CPG and the Mainland people. Performance and procedural legitimacy are equally critical to help HKSARG overcome its governance crisis. This viewpoint hopes to put “One Country, Two Systems” back on the right track.

3. The third article is Crisis responses in public hospitals: case studies in Hong Kong by Tai-ming Wut. This research paper investigates the medical incident responses from two public hospitals in Hong Kong, namely, Kowloon Hospital and Caritas Medical Centre, in order to improve the strategic preparation for crisis management in hospitals. It analyses two medical incidents using Situational Crisis Communication Theory by Coombs (2007). The two case studies demonstrate the importance of consistency in terms of crisis responses. For the first case, the crisis responses from different parties after the incident, including Hospital Authority, the doctor and the nurses from Kowloon Hospital, are contradicting to each other. First, Hospital Authority confirmed that the incident is solely an accident which is a denial response. Second, the doctor passed the responsibility to the nurses which is a scapegoating response. Third, the nurses tend to reduce the responsibility for the death of patient by excusing strategy. As a whole, their responses are inconsistent to each other. For the second case, Caritas had initially denied the responsibilities but finally had given partial apology under public pressure. That makes people think that Caritas does not really regret. Rebuilding posture should be used instead of denial and diminishment posture. However, public organisation and civil servants are reluctant to use a full apology due to possible legal consequences. The apology ordinance would ease the pressure to express regret and sympathy.

4. The fourth article is Innovation to improve patient care in Australian Primary Health Network (PHN): an insider’s perspective by David Stewart Briggs et al. Its purpose is to review the establishment of PHN in Australia and its utility in commissioning Primary Health Care (PHC) services. This study is an analysis of the management practice of the establishment and development of a PHN as a case study over the three-year period of establishment and development. The PHN is the Hunter New England and Central Coast PHN (HNECCPHN). It is based on “insiders perspectives” drawing from documentation, reports and evaluations undertaken. HNECCPHN demonstrates a unique inclusive organisation across a substantial diverse geographic area. It has taken an innovative and evidence-based approach to its creation, governance and operation. HNECCPHN addresses the health challenges of a substantial Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population. It can be described as a “virtual” organisation, using a distributed network of practice approach to engage clinicians, communities and providers. The authors describe progress and learnings in the context of theories of complex organisations, innovation, networks of practice, knowledge translation and social innovation. This is the first study of the results of the implementation of an important change in the funding and delivery of PHC in Australia. It describes the implementation and progress in terms of relevant international practice and theoretical concepts and demonstrates significant innovative practice in the short term.

5. The fifth article is Impacts of social welfare system on the employment status of low-income groups in urban China by Shen-cheng Wang et al. Aiding employment is an important poverty reduction strategy in many countries’ social welfare systems, as this strategy can help empower the recipients with a better living standard, development and social inclusion. The purpose of this study is to identify the most significant individual and systematic variables for the employment status of low-income groups in urban China. The data of this study are drawn from “Social Policy Support System for Poverty-stricken Families in Urban and Rural China 2015” report. The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China appointed and funded the Institute of Social Science Survey at Peking University to deliver the related project and organise a research team to write the report. Multiple binary logistic regression analysis is adopted to identify both individual and systematic factors that affect the employment status among low-income groups in urban China. According to the results of the binary logistic regression model, individual factors, including: gender; householder status; education; and self-rated health status, play a significant role in determining the employment status of low-income groups in urban China. Clearly, the impacts of individual factors are more influential to marginal families than to families entitled to receive Basic Living Allowance. In contrast, compared with marginal families, systematic factors are more influential to families entitled to receive Basic Living Allowance. This study highlights the importance of precise poverty reduction strategy and the issue of “welfare dependence” among low-income groups in urban China. Policy recommendations derived from the findings are given, including: the promotion of family-friendly policies, the introduction of a smart healthcare system, the establishment of a Basic Living Allowance adjustment mechanism; and the provision of related social services.

6. The sixth article is Costs of hospitalisation for chronic kidney disease in Guangzhou, China, by Hui Zhang et al. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was a worldwide public health problem which imposed a significant financial burden not only on patients but also on the health care systems, especially under the pressure of the rapid growth of the elderly population in China. This study aimed to examine the hospitalisation costs of patients with CKD between two urban health insurance schemes and investigate the factors that were associated with their inpatient costs in Guangzhou. This was a prevalence-based, observational study using data derived from two insurance claims databases during the period from January 2010 through December 2012. The authors identified 5,803 hospitalisations under two urban health insurance schemes. An extension of generalised linear model – the extended estimating equations approach was performed to identify the main drivers of total inpatient costs. Among 5,803 inpatients with CKD, the mean age was 60.6. The average length of stay (LOS) was 14.4 days. The average hospitalisation costs per inpatient were Chinese Yuan (CNY) 15,517.7. The mean inpatient costs for patients with Urban Employee-based Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) scheme (CNY15,582.0) were higher than those under Urban Resident-based Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) scheme (CNY14,917.0). However, the percentage of out-of-pocket expenses for the UEBMI patients (19.8 per cent) was only half of that for the URBMI patients (44.5 per cent). Insurance type, age, comorbidities, dialysis therapies, severity of disease, LOS and hospital levels were significantly associated with hospitalisation costs. The costs of hospitalisation for CKD were high and differed by types of insurance schemes. This was the first study to compare the differences in hospitalisation costs of patients with CKD under two different urban insurance schemes in China. The findings of this study could provide economic evidence for understanding the burden of CKD and evaluating different treatment of CKD (dialysis therapy) in China. The information could also be used by policy makers in health insurance programme evaluation and health resources allocation.

7. The seventh article is Jamaica’s development of women entrepreneurship: challenges and opportunities by Raymond Saner and Lichia Yiu. This study assesses how far Jamaica has come regarding women economic empowerment, female entrepreneurship and its development policies in favour of women entrepreneurship development. This exploratory study employs a mixed-method approach to achieve its research objectives, consisting of literature review and corroboration with database and indices. Key insights of research on female entrepreneurship are used to reflect on published data to assess progress of female entrepreneurship development in Jamaica. The 2017 edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and Gender Entrepreneurship and Development Index were used to gain a better understanding of how the Jamaican business environment has changed over time and how the economic development and business environment impact female participation in Jamaica’s labour force and entrepreneurial initiatives. The economic conditions in Jamaica and the role of females as domestic caregiver have made it difficult for women to enter the workforce even though Jamaican women are comparatively speaking better educated than men. Women remain at a disadvantage in the labour force. Jamaica’s legislation and budget allocations in favour of female entrepreneurship are analysed to identify where and how Jamaica is investing its efforts to improve women’s participation in the labour force. The authors conclude with suggestions on how the Jamaican government could facilitate further women entrepreneurship development to reach a more gender-balanced inclusive socio-economic development. While global policy has been promoting women empowerment through entrepreneurial development, little is known on the actual outcome of such human capital investment and the critical vectors that contribute to such outcome. This scarcity of knowledge is also applicable to Jamaica. This study attempts to contribute to women entrepreneurship research by reaching beyond the output-oriented perspective of various skill development programmes and attempts to link policy choice with overall macro results of entrepreneurship development in general and women entrepreneurship development in specific. It thus provides a rare glimpse of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jamaica.

8. The final article is An international review of arts inclusion policies: lessons for Hong Kong by Alvin Cheung et al. It reviews and compares the implementation of “arts inclusion” policies (AIPs) in 14 different public administrative systems around the world. It aims to provide a consolidated source which informs continued studies in this field and to develop a framework to compare AIPs at an international level. Using “arts inclusion policy” as the search term, academic journals from a wide spectrum of fields were reviewed. A data set was extracted from the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends’ online database which provided real-time information of national cultural policies. Another data set is from the United Nations’ Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, as the geographic scope of the review – largely focusing on UK, USA, Australian, Scandinavian and Asian contexts. Using existing policy-making literature as benchmark, the authors designed and applied a comparative framework dedicated to AIPs which focussed on “policy-making structures” as the main ground of comparison. An important finding is that the policy development and implementation of AIPs often underscore inter-sectoral involvement. With policy leadership and financial incentives pivotal to effective AIPs, central governments should take a more concerted leadership role to include AIPs in national inter-sectoral policies, encourage evidence-based research, expand funding and advocate the recognition of the impacts of arts inclusion. It concluded that AIPs in western countries remain more developed in targeted scopes and programme diversity compared to those of Asian countries and regions, and continued studies in this field is encouraged. This study is the first of its kind to include a number of Asian and western countries within its research scope, allowing it to offer a more holistic outlook on the development and implementation of AIPs in different countries and regions. A common critique with all relevant existing literature was usually their lack of concrete comparative grounds, and the present study’s all-encompassing review of literature from across different levels and sectors of respective public administrative systems contribute to a unique and comprehensive perspective in the arts and health discourse.